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Kramer eases the heel with a very slight s shaped choil, and it works great. Less pricking, but still able to sharpen properly. Knives with unsharpened heels (think hollow ground Resto Supply knives), and knives with big finger guards really do mess with sharpening, but moving the heel slightly forward solves this issue and allows for easy sharpening. Butch moves the heel forward on his knives, as well.

Interesting, I don't really mind sharp heels in knives while I use them but I must admit they make a mess of any towel I use to wipe them... Not even a cat manages the same results... this thread makes me think if I should slightly ease them. Any advice from the pros?

I use the heel of my deba's the most. I use it to poke into and then push Forward to cut threw the skin as so the tip stays sharp. The last inch of my deba's I sharpen at a 35 angle because I use te back inch to go threw bone.

I've got a little routine when I use my knife it gets wiped then placed on a damp/wrung out towel on the right beside my board, with the blade edge facing in, this is important especially during service, everything has it's place and makes things easier as you can work faster as you can grab things without looking, spoons, tongs ladels with the knife being the exception, the one time someone used my knife they put it back the wrong way I sliced open my knuckle when I wiped my bench. Bastard.

Having just spent a couple hours grinding off the blunt heel of a couple knives (very hard stainless!), I would question why anyone would WANT a blunt heel. Nothing like a knife that won't cut because a blunt heel is higher than the blade, eh? Smashed onions, squished tomatoes, not for me! I want mine sharp right up the end of the blade. Impossible to sharpen the next quarter inch when you have a blunt heel that' higher than the edge, to say nothing of not being able to get the edge all the way through something.

If you don't want a sharp corner, grind it off to lower than the edge, I can see that, but I've never damaged a towel (so far) drying a knife.

I use the heel of my knife to de-seed lemon cheeks mostly (not something that is easily done from 270mm away), but have used it for pretty much every purpose mentioned. i used to cut myself, but havent since i began constantly using a pinch grip.